ABSTRACT
Background: Successive waves of SARS-CoV-2 infections with increasing transmission rates may burden the laboratories performing molecular diagnostic testing. Alternative diagnostic methods may provide additional diagnostic capacity. Chemiluminescent totally automated antigen detection test for SARS-CoV-2 (Ortho VITROS SARS-CoV-2 antigen test) could be satisfactory replacement for reverse-transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) for mass screening during outbreaks. Methods: RT-qPCR and the VITROS® SARS-CoV-2 antigen were compared. Antigen detection test was assessed using clinical samples (nasopharyngeal swabs in viral transport medium) withdrawn from 668 patients suspected to have SARS-CoV-2 infection. Results: From 668 samples, 303 showed SARS-CoV-2 antigens positive and 365 SARS-CoV-2 antigens negative in comparison with RT-qPCR, the sensitivity was 89.11% and the specificity was 100.0% (PPV 100.0 and NPV 91.7). Ct value of 16.0 was the limit of detection of the assay. Conclusion: The given results show that VITROS® assay was acceptable for the detection of patients having contagious COVID-19 in the clinical setting. This test showed high sensitivity and specificity in the SARS-CoV-2 detection in samples with a Ct value of 32 or less. Chemiluminescent full automated antigen detection test for SARS-CoV-2 is a feasible substitute to (RT-qPCR) for mass screening. © 2020 The author (s).
ABSTRACT
Quality control Charts were used to monitor the number of infections with the emerging corona virus (Covid-19) for the purpose of predicting the extent of the disease's control, knowing the extent of its spread, and determining the injuries if they were within or outside the limits of the control charts. The research aims to use each of the control chart of the (Kernel Principal Component Analysis Control Chart) and (K- Nearest Neighbor Control Chart). As (18) variables representing the governorates of Iraq were used, depending on the daily epidemiological position of the Public Health Department of the Iraqi Ministry of Health. To compare the performance of the charts, a measure of average length of run was adopted, as the results showed that the number of infection with the new Corona virus is out of control, and that the (KNN) chart had better performance in the short term with a relative equality in the performance of the two charts in the medium and long rang
ABSTRACT
Background: The aim of the work was to evaluate the ocular manifestations in the patients with COVID-19 and its role in the prediction of the course and the outcome of the disease. Methods: This retrospective study was conducted at two tertiary referral COVID-19 isolation hospitals in two major university hospitals in Egypt. Two hundred and twenty-eight patients were enrolled in the study. The medical records of patients who had clinically confirmed COVID-19 between 1/5/2020 to 15/7/2020 were retrospectively reviewed. Data were collected from patient charts, including age, sex, accommodation, ocular manifestations, fever, headache, cough, dyspnea, anosmia, cyanosis, abdominal pain, anorexia, liver, kidney, cardiac manifestations, CT, X-ray finding, blood tests, and outcome of the disease. Results: Thirty-four patients with ocular manifestation were finally enrolled in the study with a mean age of 42.1 years;20 patients (58.8%) were men. The incidence of ocular manifestation was 14.9% (34/228). All patients with ocular manifestations had conjunctivitis (redness, epiphora, foreign body sensation), which had been treated and resolved completely within 10 days in all patients without any permanent ocular damage. There was a trend between the presence of ocular manifestations and the associated milder disease course, although this trend was not statistically significant. Conclusion: dOphthalmic manifestation is common in patients with COVID-19 and it occurs more frequently in patients with mild to moderate form COVID-19, but it could not predict the patient's mortality.